Lubricants News and Updates

Posts by:

Kelly Burke

Lubes are the new Fuel. What's up with all the price changes?

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Since December of 2020, we have seen an unprecedented SIX price increases roll out on base oil, additive & finished lubricant products. Now we are additionally seeing essentially all major suppliers move to allocations on products because of increasing difficulty on supply/sourcing.

So what is going on? 

Like most things in 2021, a lot of the issue started with the Pandemic & its after effects. When shutdowns went into effect in March 2020, demand for finished products crashed and that led to cuts in production volumes by producers, and the simultaneous drop in fuel demand led to a drop in refining, which caused a drop in the ability to source products for lube production that derive from fuel refining... and so on, like dominos. 

Once things came back online, the freak ice storms in Texas that derailed refineries once again slowed the access to lube production products. 

As soon as that was sorted,  demand  in the US roared back much faster than anticipated on both fuel & lubricant products as the world began to open back up.  This essentially created a situation where production was not able to come back online fast enough to meet suddenly skyrocketing demand. 

This has led to unofficial allocation levels for nearly all distributors across the country, as companies from major suppliers to independent blenders struggle to access the supply required to service their customers properly. 

To add another layer of frustration, the labor shortage in the transportation industry (read about that here: All Eyes on the Growing Driver Shortage )  means that even in the event that product CAN be sourced adequately, it is increasingly difficult to secure delivery, even at higher than standard freight rates. 

Long story short, the Pandemic, Economic Rebound, and Labor Shortages have essentially created a "perfect storm" where the fundamentals of supply and demand are pushing lubricant, additive, and base oils skyward. Optimists in the field hope supply issues will be remedied by the end of the summer, but with talk on the horizon of yet another increase in September, it seems doubtful that will be the case. 

We will keep you apprised of any major changes in the supply and pricing picture going forward. Hang in there, everybody.  

 

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Check out our Taunton Facility, where Product Integrity is Everything

In 2015 we moved out of our longtime corporate headquarters in Chelsea MA into our new facility in Taunton MA. In 2020 we also added another state-of-the art lubricant plant in Saco, Maine.

While current COVID protocols limit our ability to show our facilities to our customers, we thought a photo "walk through" and explanation might be helpful while we wait for things to open up in Massachusetts so we can return to the real thing (which thankfully should be soon!!) 

Below is a quick run through some of the key parts of our main facility in Taunton, Mass. 

One of the things we are most proud of about the Taunton facility, is starting again in the warehouse let us have the ability to put the same level of extra care into planning out product segregation in our facility as we have always done in our trucks. 

We have a substantial tank farm, and our Lubricant Operations team really went the extra mile in installing a segregated piping system, including separate pumps for hydraulic, motor oil, and DEF. This essentially provides extra steps to ensure product integrity, and eliminates the chances of any cross contamination by removing even the chance of slight residual product in hoses after pumping. 

tanksshiny segregated piping

 

Within our customized lube delivery trucks, the same principal applies, as you can see here:

segregated piping in lube trucksloading lube truck

 

For DEF, our DEF trailers are equipped with 1 micron filters, which ensures the cleanest possible product and guarantees no contamination. We run closed systems on all DEF packaging & equipment to ensure quality throughout the life of the product. 

hose reels def trailerdef drum crpped-1

 

Additionally, we added a customized tote wall setup. This setup allows us to store multiple totes in an efficient space, as well as designate each one by product and manufacturer, so each tote only carries its designated item which we can track by barcode from fill through delivery to a customers site, meaning in the event of any issues, we have full visibility into the full journey of the product and know exactly where it is and where it came from. 

Tote Wall - rotatedloading tote wall

 

The barcoded, segregated totes tie into our broader inventory tracking & product delivery platform we use to integrate product management within the warehouse with precise delivery to customers, and route optimization for our drivers, but that's a subject we will cover in another update. 

Saco to follow!

 

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DKB Becomes Northeast Distributor for Phillips 66/Kendall

Dennis K Burke is proud to announce that we are now the Phillips 66/Kendall Lubricants distributor for the Northeast. Kendall has been on the forefront of advances in lubricant product technology since the early 1900's and we are excited to be able to offer their premium, cutting edge products to our customers.  

For more information about Phillips 66/Kendall Lubricants product offerings, please visit  https://www.kendallmotoroil.com/ or feel free to reach out to the office (800-289-2875) or your Dennis K Burke representative for more information.

Contact Us to Order

 

Kendall Logo

 

 

 

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DKB becomes Castrol Distributor for New England

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Dennis K Burke is excited to announce that we are now an official distributor of Castrol automotive & heavy duty lubricants throughout the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont! 

Castrol is a premium product line, and offers a range of advanced motor oils including synthetics, synthetic blends, high mileage, conventional, and diesel engine oils.  We are excited to add Castrol to our product mix!

For more information on Castrol & Castrol Lubricants, check out their website at www.castrol.com 

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DKB becomes Petro-Canada distributor for the Northeastern U.S.

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Dennis K Burke, Inc is pleased to announce that we are now a Petro-Canada distibutor for the Northeastern United States!

For over 30 years, Petro-Canada has developed and produced top quality lubricant products, and we are excited to join with them to deliver these options to our customers throughout the Northeastern U.S.

We will be offering the full suite of Petro-Canada products, from trailer loads of bulk lubricants to cases of grease tubes, so whatever your shop or fleet requires to keep running at optimum levels, we have it!

For more information on Petro-Canada products, check their website here: https://lubricants.petro-canada.com/en-US or contact us at lubeorders@burkeoil.com 

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Charles George Companies' success with BioBlend Lubricants

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Check out the feature article in "Waste Advantage Magazine" on BioBlend Lubricants, and a feature on Charles George Companies' success with BioBlend as a full stream waste management and recycling company. (We got a little mention too!)

You can read the article at the link below:  

Waste Advantage Magazine: Bio-based Lubricants: An Environmental Solution for Refuse Hauling

or you can read it online by clicking here.

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DKB & Renegade Race Fuels, Partnering Up to Fuel Your Victory!

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We're excited to announce that we have partnered up as a Master Distributor for Renegade Racing Fuels for the Northeast!

Renegade produces high quality racing fuels and lubricants to power competitive racers for the win, from drag racing to supercross, to ATVs and power boats. 

Renegade is the fastest growing race fuel brand in the U.S., and we're very excited to work with them to provide an opportunity for customers in our area to have access to high quality, affordable competitive racing fuel. 

For more information on Renegade products, you can check out their website here: http://www.renegaderacefuel.com/ or if you want to speak to one of our sales reps about products and availability, feel free to contact us either via web form or calling us at 800-289-2875. 

PESA dragster at the starting line

 

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DKB joins NESSARA


We just got this in the mail - NESSARA, or the New England Service Station and Automotive Repair Association is a non profit group that works very hard on behalf of small, independent service stations, repair facilities, and similar companies in the industry to keep them informed of policy changes that can affect their business, and lobbies  against legislation that hurts small business' bottom lines. 

 

 

 

 

Nessara certificate for Dennis K. Burke Inc. Circa 2014

 

 

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Dennis K Burke joins with PQIA to Support Lubricant Product Integrity

We are proud to announce that we are now official supporters of the PQIA - the Petroleum Quality Institute of America. The Institute's focus is testing and ensuring that lubricants, transmission fluids, and motor oils available in the marketplace have been tested and verified to be of high quality.

PQIA issued a press release on our support, you can read that here: PQIA Dennis K Burke Press Release

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Are You Maximizing your Equipment's Efficiency?

We talk a great deal around here about proactive solutions - ideas and programs that, with a little time and capital ultimately save us time, money, and maybe most importantly - save us from the headaches of unanticipated problems. A major proactive plan that's been awesome for ourselves and several of our customers is Oil Analysis. 

What if you could get an analysis emailed to you every time you PM'ed your fleet  - whether that was tractors, heavy construction equipment, or a specialty machine?

What if that analysis could tell you your equipment may have a slow coolant leak, or your system showed a little corrosion? 

With that kind of heads up, you could proactively schedule down time for that equipment to be repaired without dealing with the chaos from equipment failure. 

What if on top of that, your report let you maximize oil drain intervals?

With that info, you could schedule your maintenance out more easily, and save on your overall lubricant spend in many cases. 

CITGO has a calculator on their site you can calculate what oil analysis may save your business based on mileage, fleet size, etc 

(CITGO offers this analysis to Dennis K Burke customers for FREE on qualified engine oils, so you can try it no risk and see if it adds value to your bottom line..... Dont use engine oil? No problem - Dennis K Burke offers an analysis program for Industrial & Specialty Equipment as well )

You can read more about Oil Analysis benefits in general (especially for industrial equipment) on the WearCheck USA site here: http://www.wearcheck.com/ 

The peace of mind from knowing your fleet is running at maximum efficiency, and your mechanics have a heads up of small engine issues before they result in catastrophic failures and downtime alone is worth it. 

If you would like more info on Oil Analysis in general, or how DKB can help you get started, fill out the contact form on the right or call us anytime.

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